Flight Cognition Laboratory

	Flight Cognition Laboratory Research Areas

	Prospective Memory An intention to perform a task at some future time is known as a prospective task. In everyday life individuals are often frustrated by failing to remember to perform deferred tasks at the appropriate time. In critical workplace settings such as aviation and medicine individuals typically must manage several concurrent tasks, and consequently are often forced to postpone or interrupt tasks and attempt to remember to perform the deferred tasks later. Failure to remember to perform intended tasks can have disastrous consequences in the operational world. We are studying the cognitive processes involved in forming, recall and executing intentions; by determining why these processes are vulnerable to failure we hope to develop practical countermeasures. Our research combines laboratory studies, field observations of domain experts at work, and theoretical modeling. Some current projects: Jessica Nowinski : Theoretical framework for propsective memory Xidong Xu : Recovering from interruptions to ongoing tasks Jon Holbrook : Countermeasures for prospective memory failures Kim Jobe : Development of naturalistic experiment paradigms


	Stress, Cognition and Skilled Performance Stress has historically been viewed as a ‘non-specific’ response to threat or anxiety. Stress responses appear to be triggered by interaction among an individual’s perception of task demands, his or her ability to cope with those demands, and the importance of being able to cope with the demands. Substantial research has been directed toward elucidating the cognitive and behavioral effects of various stressors, however gaps and inconsistencies exist in the literature. Aircrew responding to emergencies and other abnormal situations must deal with acute stressors such as time pressure, high workload, and threat to life. We are examining NTSB accident reports to investigate (i) the cognitive demands imposed by emergency situations and (ii) the ways in which stresses associated with those demands influenced the crews’ cognitive processes and performance of tasks. Our analysis will provide guidance for designing operating procedures and training to help crews deal with the demands and stresses of emergencies.We are also developing a theoretical model of the cognitive effects of stressors that will attempt to draw together a diverse and complicated research literature. Jon Holbrook, Jessica Nowinski


	Attention and Concurrent Task Management Some current projects: Loukia Loukopoulos : Concurrent task management in the cockpit Ben Berman : Analysis of aviation accidents and incidents from a cognitive perspective Kim Jobe : Reviewing ASRS and NTSB reports to explore the consequences of concurrent task management problems for airspace capacity, efficiency, and costs


	Visual Search Despite safety improvements in some areas of general aviation, midair collisions remain steady at around 0.035 per 100,000 flying hours, or about 15 per year. The FAA and other organizations recommend a timed, systematic, visual scan in which the pilot fixates at a location for at least one second, then shifts gaze no more than 10 degrees to the next sector in the visual field. Although all pilots are exposed to this concept, they do not receive systematic or extensive training in how to execute it. Using a General Aviation Flight Training Device and head and eye tracking systems, we are running studies to determine the scanning patterns pilots actually use and to evaluate the effectiveness of these patterns. Kurt Colvin, Rahul Dodhia, Sean Belcher